Air quality in the classroom. 2009 Scandinavian student-based research campaign.

Abstract

Student research campaigns (forskningskampanjer) have been an annual event in connection to ScienceDays (Forskningsdagene) since 2003 in Norway. The campaigns invite students from all over the country to participate in a common scientific research event, always connected to a special environmentally related theme – for example Air Quality in the Classroom (2003), Pollution along Roads (2004), Bacteria in Drinking Water (2005), and The Rain Check (2006). This year’s campaign repeated the 2003 Indoor Air Quality campaign, while in addition including schools in Denmark and Sweden as well. The campaign included the hands-on activity of collecting CO2 and mold data from the students classrooms. This data was then assembled on the campaign website at miljolare.no. The results from the Norwegian campaign show that Norwegian classrooms show improved indictors in comparison to the 2003 CO2 results, and that overall the mold results are not too alarming. Norwegian classrooms show much better indicators than their Danish counterparts when analysing the CO2 and mold results. Norwegian classrooms most likely show improved conditions due to advanced ventilation systems and ventilation routines, where improving ventilation is the single best method to improving the indoor air quality.